Maps of Music

Blue Blood (1989)

Where the lyrics of Blue Blood take you, and where it was really made.

Released as the band's first major label album, this record sold more than 700,000 copies and stayed on the Oricon chart for over 100 weeks.

Key places

Where Blue Blood was recorded (1989)

Recording site Tiny Voice Production — Blue Blood was recorded in Tokyo between January and March 1989 at CBS Sony studios. The point is placed at city-centre level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Percussion recorded in Bombay (1989)

Recording site Bombay — The percussion for the instrumental Xclamation #1 was recorded by Noritaka Ubukata in Bombay, India. The point marks the city. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Blue Blood is the second studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then known as X
• Released 21 April 1989 by CBS/Sony as the band's major label debut
• Sold more than 700,000 copies and peaked at number 6 on the Oricon chart
• Also reached the top five with its singles

Background

• X took part in a CBS/Sony audition on 26 December 1987
• Debut album Vanishing Vision came out on 14 April 1988 through drummer Yoshiki's own Extasy Records
• The band toured widely in support of Vanishing Vision
• X signed with CBS/Sony at the end of July 1988
• Songwriting camps were held in August and September 1988
• The album was released during the Blue Blood Tour, which began on 13 March 1989
• Two concerts sold out in advance: 16 March at Shibuya Public Hall and 25 April at Osaka Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan

Recording

• X recorded Blue Blood from 6 January to March 1989
• Re-recordings of "Orgasm", "X", "Kurenai" and "Unfinished" were included, with alternate or expanded lyrics
• Percussion on "Xclamation #1" was recorded in Bombay, India
• Friends, fellow musicians and members of Extasy Records bands sang backing vocals on "X" and "Orgasm"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• X Japan is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi.
• The group began as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements and later moved toward a progressive sound with an emphasis on ballads.
• The band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei, a Japanese movement comparable to Western glam.

Members

• Current members are Yoshiki (drums, piano), Toshi (lead vocals), Pata (guitar) and Sugizo (guitar, violin).
• Hide, who died in 1998, and bassist Heath, who died in 2023, are still considered members by the band.

Career

• The band released its debut album Vanishing Vision on Yoshiki's own Extasy Records in 1988 and reached the main Oricon chart as the first independent band to do so.
• Blue Blood (1989) brought breakthrough success, and Jealousy (1991) debuted at number one.
• The group changed its name from X to X Japan in 1992 and disbanded after its Tokyo Dome farewell show in 1997.
• The band reunited in 2007, toured internationally, and released the We Are X soundtrack in 2017.
• The band has sold over 30 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Music writer Takuya Ito called Blue Blood a historic work that revolutionized the history of Japanese rock
• Kazuaki Nakatsuka of Re:minder cited "Rose of Pain" as his favorite track and said the album's music spans a very wide range
• Carl Begai of Re:minder's counterpart wrote that the album never lets up, and named "Blue Blood", "X" and "Orgasm" as his favorite songs
• Alexey Eremenko of Allmusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars
• Rolling Stone referred to "Endless Rain" as "November Rain", with a crude remark attached

Reappraisal

• In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan ranked the album number 15 on its list of the 100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time
• In 2018, readers and professional musicians voted it the best album in the history of hard rock and heavy metal in We Rock magazine's Metal General Election
• In 2021, Kerrang! included it on a list of 13 essential Japanese rock and metal albums

Records

• Oricon: number 6 in the first counting week of May 1989, with 28,160 copies sold
• 1989 sales: 188,940 copies, 63rd best-selling album of the year
• 1990 sales: 378,910 copies, 28th best-selling album of the year
• RIAJ certified it gold in December 1989
• Charted for 108 weeks; Oricon counted 712,000 copies sold in 2007
• Special edition released 14 February 2007 reached number 23 on the Oricon chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The term visual kei was derived from the slogan "Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock" seen on the album cover, and was used to describe the scene X Japan pioneered
• Several songs from the record remain mainstays in X Japan's live sets, with "Kurenai" played at most of their concerts
• "Celebration" was covered on the 1999 hide tribute album Tribute Spirits, and hide later recorded a studio version after his death
• Argentinian metal band Auvernia covered "Blue Blood" on their 2008 album Towards Eternity
• "Kurenai" was covered by Matenrou Opera on the 2011 compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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